Fabric testing apparatus



June 11, 1968 T. D. AINSLIE FABRI C TEST ING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 2, 1966 INVENTOR.

June 11, 1968 T. D. AINSLIE 3,387,484

FABRI C TESTING APPARATUS Filed March 2, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

7710mm Jaw dinslie T. D. AINSLIE June 11, 1968 FABRIC TESTING APPARATUS S Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 2, 1966 I INVENTOR. Thomas pqw duwlzfi United States Patent M ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A fabric testing apparatus comprising, a rotor having radial arms, each of the arms carrying at its end, a pro jecting piece of fabric to be tested by Wiping contact against an abrasive strip or web. The strip or web is drawn from a supply roll and it passes about an abutment roller where it is contacted by successive pieces of the fabric as they are moved past it by the rotation of the rotor. A driven feed roller located beyond the abutment roller, moved the abrasive strip which passes over a tension roller and proceeds to a point of disposal. This arrangement is such that each piece of fabric contacts with a fresh area of the abrasive strip during the travel of the strip from the supply roll to the point of disposal.

This invention relates to impact testing devices and more particularly to a device for determining the char acteristics, construction and wearing possibilities of fabric or other sheet material, and such a device is especially useful for the testing of collars, cuffs, or other fabric elements.

A device of this general character is disclosed in the co-pending application for patent of Thomas Dow Ainslie, Ser. No. 371,991, filed June 2, 1964, now Patent No. 3,312,100, and wherein is shown a rotated disk or rotor provided with a plurality of radial arms, each of said arms carrying a clamp for holding a fabric element to be tested, and situated adjacent to the perimeter of the disk and beyond the clamps, is one or more abutments. Such abutments are covered with an abrasive-surfaced material. When the disk is rotated, the fabric elements held by the clamps, will be extended by centrifugal force and the fabric pieces will be wiped against the abrasive surface of the abutments as they pass such abutments.

With the arrangement above described, it will be apparent that repeated contact with the fixed abrasive surface of the abutment will not only determine the wear resistance of the fabric pieces, but will also cause a loss of the abrasiveness of the surface of the abutment covering and hence a uniform test of the abrasion resistance of the fabric will not be secured.

The present invention therefore contemplates the provision of means by which the abrasive surface on the abutment will be maintained uniformly during a test. This result is attained by providing such surface in the form of a strip or Web which is fed about a rotative abutment or roller so that each time one of the fabric pieces wiping- 1y contacts a part of the web around the abutment, such contact will be had with a fresh part of the web or strip.

More particularly, the invention contemplates the provision of a web-supplying roll from which the material is drawn by the operation of a driven feed roller, and which causes the web to be moved around an abutment roller. The web is in slow but continuous movement so that fresh areas of it are presented on the abutment to receive the contact of the fabric pieces as they wipingly contact with the web.

to be described and more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

3381434 Patented June 11, 1968 In the accompanying drawings, wherein an illustrative embodiment of the invention is disclosed,

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the improved strip of web feeding mechanism as employed in connection with an impact testing apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view showing the path of travel of the web or strip over the rollers;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the apparatus as seen from the right of FIG 1 and,

FIG. 4 is a front view of the apparatus, with a portion of the rotor disk of the impact tester shown in dot-anddash lines.

An impact testing apparatus of the kind to which the present invention relates, is shown in detail in my copend'mg application for Patent Ser. No. 371,991, now Patent No. 3,312,100 filed June 2, 1964-. The apparatus therein disclosed is shown as being provided with a rotary disk having radially projecting and adjustable arms, each of which arms is provided at its free end with a clamp for holding a section or piece of the fabric to be impact tested. Abutments are so located that when the pieces of fabric are moved by the rotative movement of the disk or rotor, they are frictionally wiped against the abutment or abutments and the repeated wiping action determines the resistance of the fabric to friction and. wear. The abutments may pe provided with an abrasive covering or they may be abrasive surfaced and against which the fabric pieces contact during the rotative movements of the disk.

A portion of a rotor or disk of this kind is indicated at 1 in FIG. 4 and one of the several adjustable and radially projecting arms on the disk is shown at 2. Said arm is provided at its free end with a clamp 3 which holds a piece of the fabric 4 to be tested, and with a portion of the fabric projecting beyond the clamp for wiping contact with the abrasive surfacing extending over an abutment roller 5, as the disk is rotated. In FIG. 11} the fabric piece 4 is shown in the act of contacting with the surfacing on the roller 5 as the fabric is moved past the roller in the direction of the arrow.

The mechanism constituting the present invention is primarily adapted to continuously move a strip or web of an abrasive-surfaced material over the surface of the rotative abutment roller 5 so that there is being constantly presented to the contacting pieces of fabric, fresh areas on the abrasive material. The apparatus includes a supporting frame having spaced face plates 6 and 7 suitably connected by cross braces 8 and 9 and otherwise reinforced and strengthened where necessary. A top plate is shown at 11 and at 12 is shown a suitably mounted electric motor having a drive shaft 13 operated through suitable reduction gearing, and carrying a worm 14 which engages with and drives a worm gear 15. Said worm gear 15 is mounted on the shaft 16 of a feed roller 17 under which the abrasive-surfaced material or web 18 is fed. The travel of the web of this material from its source of supply to and beyond the abutment roller 5 is clearly shown in FIG. 2. In FIGS. 1 and 4 the course of the abrasive material 18 between the several rollers employed in the device is not shown in order to more clearly show the arrangement of the rollers.

The web of abrasive material 18 is shown as being in the form of a continuous strip that is supplied from a supply 20 contained on and drawn from a supply roll 19 supported in suitable bearings in the frame plates 6 and 7. The web or strip 18 of this material, when drawn from the supply 20, first extends around a tension roller 21 rotative in the frame members 6 and 7 and suitably adjustably tensioned by means of friction brakes 22. After leaving the tension roller 21 the web 18 extends over another roller shown at 23, from which it extends to an idler or guide roller 24, then extending upwardly to pass around the abutment roller 5. The web or strip 18 then passes under the driven feed roller 17 which causes a slow but continuous feed of the web and it extends between said feed roller 15 and under a pressure roller 25, to then pass out from between the two rollers 17 and 25 for removal either manually or by suitable mechanical or other means. T he pressure roller 25 is adjustable to and from the feed roller 17 by means of an adjusting mechanism shown at 26, such mechanism being adjustable through the supporting brackets 27. It will be understood that the several rollers described will be mounted in suitable bearings to insure their free rotative movement.

The apparatus as disclosed is suitably mounted at or on a table 28 and is so situated relatively to the disk or rotor 1 that as the rotor is rotated, the fabric pieces 4 held by it will repeatedly contact with the abrasive-surfaced material 18 as the material travels slowly over the surface of the abutment roller 5 so that each time that a fabric piece contacts with the abrasive material, such contact will be established with a fresh portion of the web. As a result, the abrasive material will present a uniformly fresh contact surface to the rotationally moved fabric samples.

In referring to the material of which the web or strip is composed or with which it is surfaced, as being abrasive, I do not wish to limit the material to one which has a strictly rough surface, such as is found for example, on sand paper or emery cloth, both of which can be used. The degree of roughness or abrasion characteristics is largely a matter of the extent to which the friction resistance and durability of the fabric is to be tested. In some cases a relatively smooth-surfaced strip or web might be used. For example, a cloth like burlap or some other even smoother material might be used if required.

Having thus described an embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that the same is not to be restricted thereto, but is broad enough to cover all structures coming Within the scope of the annexed claims.

What I claim is:

1. A fabric testing apparatus comprising, a rotor carrying radial arms, each of said arms carrying a piece of fabric to be tested by repeated contact with a relatively abrasive surface, an abutment roller over which a strip of abrasive-surfaced material passes and which is contacted by each piece of the fabric as said piece of fabric is moved past it by the rotative movement of the rotor, a web-supply roll from which the strip is drawn and fed to the abutment roller and means for drawing the abrasive surfaced strip from the supply on the roll relatively to the roller so that each contact of each piece of fabric with said strip will be a contact with a new and uncontacted section of the strip.

2. A fabric testing apparatus according to claim 1, including a frame, the web-supply roll being rotatively mounted therein and from which the web is drawn, tension rolls about which the strip is passed on its travel to the abutment roller, said means for drawing the abrasive surfaced strip from the supply on the roll comprising a feed roller engaged by the web after the web leaves the abutment roller, and drive means for rotating the feed roller.

3. A fabric testing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the drive means for the feed roller consists of a motor-driven worm engaging a worm gear, and a shaft carrying the feed roller and on which the worm gear is mounted.

4. In a fabric testing apparatus in which an abutment is repeatedly and wipingly contacted by a piece of fabric to be tested, a strip of material taken from a supply-roll and in movement relatively to the abutment and across the same and with which the fabric is repeatedly frictionally contacted, and means for moving the strip so that each time that the same is contacted by the fabric such contact will be established with a different and previously uncontacted portion of the strip.

5. A fabric testing apparatus comprising, a rotor carrying a plurality of pieces of fabric to be tested by repeated wiping contact with an abrasive surfaced roller abutment, a frame in which said roller abutment is rotatively mounted, a supply roll of abrasive-surfaced strip material rotatively mounted in the frame and from which the strip material moves to and over the abutment roller, tension rollers located between the supply roll and the abutment roller and engaged by the strip material, a feed roller for engaging the strip material after it leaves the abutment roller, and a motor-driven Worm gear drive for rotating the feed roller.

6. In a fabric testing apparatus, an abutment comprising a roller against which pieces of fabric are adapted to be frictionally contacted, a supply roll for an abrasivesurfaced web, tension rollers located between the supply roll and the abutment roller and over which the web extends, means for moving the web so that successive pieces of the fabric will contact with fresh areas of the web, said means for moving the web comprising a feed roller to which the web extends after engaging with the abutment roller, and means for rotating the feed roller.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,582,223 1/1952 Blackburn et a1. 737 2,590,839 4/1952 Clapham 73-7 2,797,574 7/1957 Rusca et al 737 LOUIS R. PRINCE, Primary Examiner.

J. NOLTON, Assistant Examiner. 

